May 19 Inverness, Scotland

I sent mom on a tour of the Scottish highlands and Cawdor Castle. I headed out for a day exploring Inverness. Cawdor Castle is where Duncan dies in MacBeth – except that the castle did not exist at the time! So much for legends. Mom says is is a beautiful castle with lovely gardens.

I went exploring in Inverness. The old city is very compact and easy to walk. There is a lovely walk along both sides of the Ness River that include a cathedral and the Inverness Castle.  Along the way, I watched a couple of men fly fishing in the river and I saw a nice Celtic Cross monument. Someone offered to take my picture, I refused the picture, but we had a lovely chat about what he did wearing a kilt at the CN Tower (hint: it involves the glass floor and he’s “a real Scotsman”).

I got a treat at the castle. It is a beautiful building that dominates the city and is in use as a justice building, but the gardens are somewhat accessible and full of bunnies!

I stopped for lunch as decided I had to try the haggis – it seemed important. They served it with a malt whisky cream sauce. Not sure if it was because of the sauce, but I quite enjoyed it!

I also found the Hector Russell shop in Inverness – and took a picture for Heather. The Whiskey Shop tried to tell me that they honey whisky they had for sale was similar to Stag’s Breath. I told them it was not even in the same league. So, I’m still searching for what I consider the “drink of the Gods” (aka Stag’s Breath honey-whisky liquor).

The Victorian Market is in a very nice old building, but I really did not find much in it. There are a lot of interesting pubs, throughout Inverness.